Latest snapshots add animated textures, dropper block and more!

Since the last snapshot we talked about, 13w01, that added tons of redstone additions to the game, 2 new snapshots have been released containing even more great new additions and, as always, tons of bugfixes. A new texture pack system has been implemented allowing for HD and animated textures, as well as a dropper block among other changes. Read on for the details…

The often-discussed new texture system has been implemented in 13w02a, and besides making life easier for texture makers and users alike by putting each texture in its own file, it also allows for animated textures, HD textures and mixing of differently sized textures if your texture pack is missing some, or if you just want to customize it further. Is it the death of customizers? Probably not, but it does allow for easier texture management.

The community has already gathered around animated textures, so we’ve seen some pretty cool stuff be made, like this pack that makes everything move. The snapshot also brought some fixes and changes, so here’s the complete changelog from Mojang’s blog:

Textures for blocks and items now have individual image files (read more below)

Improved death messages

Improved naming (using the anvil) of containers and mob eggs

Trapped chests now give off the redstone signal through walls

Improved hoppers and made them controllable by redstone

Updated language files

Language files can now be updated via the background downloader (no need for a new Minecraft release)

But that’s not all the news we have for you this time, since another snapshot came out, also bearing notable changes. The dropper block was added as part of the redstone-oriented features. It works the same as a dispenser, except it always drops the item instead of activating it meaning it will drop arrow items instead of shooting arrows. Dinnerbone also made skeletons and zombies stronger by making them less vulnerable to easy attacks, so skeletons take less melee damage and zombies less ranged. This should make combat a bit more interesting from now on.

Another addition were new minecarts, including the minecart with hopper and minecart with TNT, which should be used for complicated redstone transportation systems and blowing stuff up respectively. Here’s the changelog for the snapshot:

That’s all the news for now folks, but Mojang seem to be on a roll with snapshots. Usually not every snapshot will contain something important, but we’ve now gotten 3 in a row with lots of changes and additions. Hopefully this means 2013 will bring tons of cool new stuff for Minecraft. If you want to test out these features yourself, you can get the latest snapshot here: